Qiao Qianrong's face, which normally looked rather stern, softened when she spoke of her daughter.
Mother and daughter had likely not seen each other for a long time, as they spoke only of the time they had spent together when Qiao Lin was just a child.
Qin Zhao couldn't help but admire herself for only guessing that Qiao Lin was Qiao Qianrong's daughter and daring to dangle such uncertain bait.
Yet she had truly managed to strike Qiao Qianrong's soft spot.
"But I haven't seen her for a very long time. If we were to meet again now, I'm afraid I wouldn't even recognize her.
I'm a useless woman, couldn't even keep my own daughter by my side."
"You'd recognize her. She looks a lot like you," Qin Zhao said.
Qiao Qianrong suddenly grabbed Qin Zhao by the collar and glared at her threateningly. "Did he send you?!"
Qin Zhao looked bewildered but remained calm under Qiao Qianrong's gaze.
Qiao Qianrong glowered at Qin Zhao for a moment before letting her go.
"Why can't he just let me be? I've been in hiding, staying far away so as not to cause him any more trouble. Why can't he just leave me alone?"
She pointed at her own face. "Look at me, I used to be so beautiful, even prettier than you.
He said I had to keep a low profile if I wanted to stay alive, so I disfigured myself like this.
I did everything he asked, so why can't he stop tormenting me?"
She sounded more and more despondent.
Qin Zhao wanted to glean more information from her ramblings, so she refrained from interrupting.
"A day as husband and wife means a hundred days of grace, so why does he treat me worse than his enemy?"
Husband and wife?
So Qiao Qianrong had been married to Nan Chenghui!
This was undoubtedly the most shocking revelation yet!
Did that mean Qiao Lin was Nan Chenghui's daughter!
Things were becoming more and more interesting.
Qiao Qianrong then began to recount her past with Nan Chenghui.
As she spoke, her expression turned as girlishly shy as a young maiden's before shifting to resentment.
"We were the best looking couple in our village, so we naturally came together.
Though we were poor in those years, they were the happiest days of my life.
Because I have those memories, when Nan Chenghui held a knife to me, I couldn't believe it.
Thinking he must have lost his mind, I tried to take the knife from him but he slashed me.
Yet the physical pain was nothing compared to the mental anguish I endured.
If not for my sister, I'm afraid I would have lost myself in memories and lived a crazy life."
Tears streamed down Qiao Qianrong's face like a broken faucet. "But my sister, my sister...
Waaah, it's my fault that she died."
She hugged Qin Zhao tightly and wept. "Sister is gone. There's no one left in this world who loves me."
Only then did Qin Zhao realize that Qiao Qianrong was mentally ill and having an episode.
She disliked intimate contact with strangers but refrained from pushing Qiao Qianrong away so as not to trigger her further.
"I had the happiest family and the best man until that woman came and ruined my relationship with Chenghui. It's all her fault!"
Qiao Qianrong's voice turned shrill and piercing, paining Qin Zhao's ears.
Thankfully, Qiao Qianrong let her go before she went deaf.
Qin Zhao disagreed with Qiao Qianrong's view.
When a man cheats, it's the man's fault. Blaming the other woman is just cowardly scapegoating.
But Qin Zhao neither cared for Qiao Qianrong nor the woman she spoke of, so she kept her opinions to herself.
She continued listening as Qiao Qianrong spilled her most unforgettable memories like beans.
Qin Zhao gleaned three key pieces of information:
First, the person Nan Chenghui and Chen Xiao had buried years ago was Qiao Qianrong's sister.
She had taken a knife for Qiao Qianrong, allowing her to escape with her daughter.
Out of guilt over her sister's death and as an escape from reality, Qiao Qianrong had developed a mental illness.
However, she was not completely out of touch with reality as her condition seemed to come and go.
Second, after fleeing, Qiao Qianrong had lived a simple life with her daughter until Nan Chenghui tracked them down.
Seeing that Qiao Lin was his daughter, Nan Chenghui spared Qiao Qianrong's life but demanded she hand their daughter over to him to raise.
In Qin Zhao's view, this was clearly Nan Chenghui's way of keeping Qiao Lin hostage so as to prevent Qiao Qianrong from exposing him.
Third, Qiao Lin's identity was kept secret. She did not know Nan Chenghui was her father.
"System, can you look into where Qiao Lin is and what she's doing?"
"She is being held captive by Nan Chenghui in an abandoned factory. That's all I can say, you'll have to investigate the rest yourself."
As an AI assistant, the system was quite free with information about minor characters but more guarded about key ones.
"Alright then."
Qin Zhao immediately realized Nan Yue's odd behavior likely had to do with Qiao Lin!
After finishing her tale, Qiao Qianrong seemed to suddenly realize what she had revealed.
Looking fearful, she said, "I shouldn't have told you all that. Nan Chenghui will kill me!"
She pushed at Qin Zhao. "Go now, forget everything I said just now. I was just rambling nonsense, don't believe any of it."
Qin Zhao pursed her lips as if helplessly and said, "But I have sharp ears and a good memory. I can't forget even if I wanted to.
Also, I rather admire you, so I completely believe everything you said."
The first half was true, the second half was flattery.
Qin Zhao lamented to herself that she really was quite the social expert.
Qiao Qianrong looked confused. "What do you admire about me?"
"I admire how you fought tooth and nail for just an empty cardboard box. So why would you so easily give up your own daughter?
That's not like you at all."
Qiao Qianrong's eyes shifted about evasively. "I had my reasons. I couldn't provide her a good life so leaving her with her father was the better choice for her."
"Is that so?"
Qiao Qianrong nodded hesitantly.
"If you really understood, you wouldn't say that.
She may be by Nan Chenghui's side but not as his daughter.
She just trails behind the child Nan Chenghui claims, like an overworked servant."
Qin Zhao intentionally exaggerated things a bit. Judging from Qiao Lin's clothes, Nan Chenghui or Nan Yue seemed to provide her with a decent allowance.
If being a bodyguard was considered a job, it would be a pretty good one.
She embellished things a little in hopes of prodding Qiao Qianrong into action.
But Qiao Qianrong remained unmoved. She shook her head. "My hopes for her were never wealth or status. This is enough."
Qin Zhao frowned. "What's enough? Her life doesn't resemble anything good in the slightest."
"I only wish for her to live her life in peace and safety. As her father, Nan Chenghui would at least not make her do dangerous things. What's a little hardship or toil?"
Qin Zhao immediately seized on this point. "Hah! Then you think far too highly of Nan Chenghui. For your daughter, the most dangerous person is him!"
Panic flashed across Qiao Qianrong's face and she urgently asked, "What do you mean by that?!"
"He's holding her captive somewhere. One reason I came to find you is to rescue her."
Qiao Qianrong stared steadily at Qin Zhao, seeming not to fully trust her words.
Qin Zhao also felt a little uneasy, having improvised this plan on the spot.
She had originally intended Qiao Lin merely as a lead-in but it was clear now that Qiao Qianrong cared only about her daughter.
So she had no choice but to focus the discussion on Qiao Lin.
After a moment, Qiao Qianrong asked, "How can I trust you?"
Qin Zhao took out a photo from her backpack. "You recognize Chen Xiao, right? He gave me this photo."
Seeing the photo, Qiao Qianrong fell silent briefly before asking, "What happened to Chen Xiao?"
"He's dead. He had wanted to take Nan Chenghui down with him but unfortunately Nan Chenghui escaped while he met a regretful end alone."
Qin Zhao then gave a simple summary of the grievances between Chen Xiao and Nan Chenghui.
"He must have given me that information hoping you could accomplish what he did not.
I don't know what your relationship was but he seemed to trust you a great deal."
Qiao Qianrong shook her head. "He pursued me once but we didn't really have any other relationship, I wouldn't say he trusted me."
Seeing she did not react much, Qin Zhao took out another item - a watch. "Do you recognize this watch? I don't know why he gave it to me."
Qiao Qianrong snatched the watch and stared fixedly at it, her expression gradually becoming deranged.
She seemed to be going through an emotional storm.
"Why show me this token again when I've finally forgotten? When I was ready to let go of the past...
She said this, and her eyes cleared.
Getting up and walking forward without looking back, she said, "Follow me."
